Optus steps up for uncertain Kogan Mobile and Aldi Mobile customers

Still a far cry from the cheaper MVNOs

"Kogan Mobile has tried to do everything it can to protect its customers," Kogan said on its website today.

"However, contrary to our numerous and concerted efforts to persuade Telstra to maintain and support Kogan Mobile's arrangements with Telstra's sole distributor, ISPOne, Telstra has advised that it will terminate the 3G Prepaid Mobile services to Kogan Mobile."

This has meant that Kogan Mobile customers will need to find a new home.

Aldi Mobile, on the other hand, will be survived through its provider Medion, who was able to reach an "interim" agreement with Telstra over the weekend. But while Aldi Mobile customers will face no immediate effects, some uncertainty lies with the use of the word "interim".

Optus saves the day?

Optus this afternoon announced that up until 30 September, it will be offering a special deal to those wanting to port their number over to the telco.

"No one likes uncertainty with their mobile service and we feel for people who are currently worrying about it," said Ben White, Vice President Mobile Marketing at Optus. "We're hoping to make things better by offering an easy way for you to come to Optus, keep your existing number and continue using your mobile service."

For those who sign up to Optus' Prepaid Social 4G plan, Optus will give customers double the data for the first three recharges, and $10 off its $29.95 SIM starter pack.

Optus prices vs MVNO prices

Of course, the prepaid plans themselves in terms of value is a far cry from Kogan Mobile and Aldi Mobile offerings.

The cheapest Optus recharge - $30 a month - will get you unlimited calls to Optus mobiles, unlimited SMS to Aussie mobiles, 250 minutes of call time, $30 of credit, but only 500MB of data. The highest plan offers the same unlimited offers, but 900 minutes of call, $100 worth of credit and 5GB of data.

Aldi Mobile offers unlimited call and text with 5GB of data for $35 a month, while Kogan Mobile offered unlimited calls and text with 6GB for $39 a month.

Still, Optus does provide a level of certainty, access to its 4G network and calls to 23 other countries included as part the minutes allocated to the recharge amount.